Say what you will about Tareq and Michaele Salahi; they know how to make an appearance.

"Sari, everybody! Didn't mean to threaten national security or anything!"

There’s a variety of opinions on the Salahis’ icky-tacky appearance at the Obama Administration’s first state dinner at the White House. Some people are jealous. Some people are furious. Some people are horrified.

The real shame, though, is that for one couple’s night of Presidential hobnobbing, the American attention turned to dissecting the party crash–instead of noting that the administration hosting India for its very first state dinner was a huge statement and a wise diplomatic move. As we continue to build dialogue with Pakistan, it’s increasingly important for the United States to maintain India’s confidence–and this was a clear acknowledgement of that by our White House. But instead, real political brain cache has been spent dealing with the party crash debacle, and few Americans even remember what the dinner was intended for.

The Salahis are their own stories: presidential security and searching for fame ala Balloon-boy parents style.

Even though they were unarmed, if they had more seriously evil intentions, being arm’s length of the President could have been catastrophic. The Secret Service supposedly plans against all types of threats to the President, so overlooking these two party-crashers is considered a breakdown in security.

The American public is ignorant and could care less about the importance of the White House state dinner with the Indian Prime Minister. Here’s a normal John and Jane being able to waltz right into the White House uninvited; it could have been one of us!